By Allison Manning
The Columbus Dispatch
DELAWARE, Ohio — Rather than threatening with restraint chairs and Tasers, Delaware County jailers decided to try something different last month to calm the violence among the 200 inmates: Talking about it.
Anger-management classes started at the beginning of March with just a few inmates, but enough that the number of fights, assaults on staff members and uses of force has dropped. Officials hope the lessons carry over when inmates are released.
“Maybe if we can teach them some skills while they’re in jail, we can have a better outcome,” said jail director Joseph Lynch.
There were no fights in November, when the jail started tracking violent incidents, but there were four assaults on staff members and nine other uses of force. Since then, the numbers have fluctuated, but the overall incidents have gone down. There were six total incidents in March: three fights, two uses of force and one assault on staff.
“All of these programs really do help in keeping a more peaceful environment,” Lynch said.
Only five inmates are admitted to the class, and it’s not group therapy. Clinical counselor Doug Arnold, who counsels and assesses inmates, uses an education-based approach. He has small goals, for each attendee to take part in the class discussions. Last week, they all did.
“My intent is that they are interested in talking,” Arnold said. “Sometimes if it’s too large, they don’t want to talk.”
It’s a tough crowd. Compared with a prison population, the jail inmates are less consistent. They’re pulled out for court dates or are there only for a short time. And there can be issues even within the class. Two inmates who each wanted to attend couldn’t at the same time because of lingering tension between them.
In one class, the five male inmates talked about triggers for anger and how to control them. They talked about trying to control their own anger, of slamming doors and inadvertently starting fights -- what Arnold called “perceived affronts” that could lead to a physical altercation.
“It’s important that your intention is to let the anger go,” Arnold said.
“It’s hard sometimes,” said Tyler Nothstine, 23, who was attending his last class before being released a few days later. “When the rage hits you, that control is hard.”
The state prison system has about a half-dozen classes focusing in part on anger management, said Mike Davis, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
“The programs are all designed for ultimately addressing anger,” Davis said. “The diversity (of programs is there) because we have diverse individuals.” But not all counties can offer that kind of programming. Fairfield County Sheriff Dave Phalen said he’d like to add an anger-management class but can’t afford it. (Arnold carved time out of his week to provide the classes, so it doesn’t cost Delaware anything extra.)
Debbie Schifer, social-services supervisor for the Franklin County jails Downtown and on Jackson Pike, said several classes, including anger management, are offered to inmates. But with 1,500 inmates, there’s plenty of demand for classes, as well as outside groups willing to teach them, but not always enough space.
Though Delaware officials are proud of the results, not everyone is on board. Brian Cox, 20, who is in jail for breaking and entering, theft and obstructing official business, said he felt the classes were pointless. He called himself a fighter and said he’d spent 30 days in isolation since he was arrested on Valentine’s Day.
“It’s not helpful if you don’t have follow-up care,” he said. “People will do what they know.”
But Arnold isn’t dissuaded. Another class will start after this session, which ended last week.
“You have a chance to look at yourself, think about the information you heard,” Arnold told the inmates. “Wherever you are, you can do something about yourself.”
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